SOCIAL PROBLEM

Fuller and Myers (1941) have defined a social problem as “a condition which is defined by a
considerable number of persons as a deviation from some social norms which they cherish”.
Merton and Nisbet (1971) hold that a social problem is “a way of behavior that is regarded by
a substantial part of a social order as being in violation of one or more generally accepted or
approved norms”. According to Carr (1955), “a social problem exists whenever we become
conscious of a difficulty, a gap between our preferences and reality”.

A social problem is an issue within the society that makes it difficult for people to achieve
their full potential. Poverty, unemployment, unequal opportunity, racism, substandard
housing, employment discrimination, and child abuse and neglect, crime, substance abuse
and malnutrition are examples of social problems. Not only do social problems affect many
people directly, but they also affect all of us indirectly. A social problem is any condition or
behavior that has negative consequences for large numbers of people and that is generally
recognized as a condition or behavior that needs to be addressed. When a particular social
phenomenon or condition disturbs the social order and hinders the smooth working of social
institutions that come to be identified as a social problem.

The definition of a social problem has both an objective component and a subjective
component. The objective component involves empirical evidence of the negative
consequences of a social condition or behavior, while the subjective component involves the
perception that the condition or behavior is indeed a problem that needs to be addressed.

At the initial phase, such conditions are neglected since they do not have any serious adverse
effects on the social system. But gradually, they get accumulated and begin to affect normal
social life. Such a condition is recognized as a social problem. Once a social problem takes
roots and develops beyond the bounds of tolerance, there arises resentment against it and
there is a demand for remedy in the interest of social harmony.

THE CONCEPT OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS

A social problem has been defined as a “deviation from the social ideal
remediable by group effort”. Two elements are important in this definition ;( 1) a situation
which is less than ideal, that is, which is undesirable or abnormal, and (2) one which is
remediable by collective effort though it is not easy to determine which situation is ideal and
which is not, and there is no definite standard which could be used to judge it, yet it is clear
that a social ideal is not something arbitrary and the term ‘ social problem’ is applied only
that ‘ issue’ which social ethics and society consider as unfavorable. The issue should also be
such that an individual cannot handle it by himself. Thus, a problem may be an individual
problem under one set of circumstances and a social problem under others.

But social problems change with the passage of time. What was not considered a
social problem a few decades ago may become a crucial social problem two decades hence.

A social problem, thus, involves a value judgment, a feeling that a condition is

detrimental and requires changes. Political corruption came to be viewed as a social problem
only in the 70’s and 80’s of the twentieth century, though it was prevalent in our country
earlier too. Issues like wife-battering and child abuse are yet to be accepted as serious social
problems.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS

 All social problems are deviations from the ideal situation.

 All social problems have some common basis of origin
 All social problems are social in origin
 All social problems are inter connected
 All social problems are social in their results, that is, they affect all sections of society
 The responsibility for social problems is social, that is, they require a collective
approach for their solution.

According to Weinberg (1960), social problems are behavior patterns or conditions which
arise from social problems and are considered so objectionable or undesirable by many
members of a society that they recognize that corrective policies, programs and services are
necessary to cope with them. Weinberg gives six characteristics of social problems:

1) Social problems arise by being collectively defined as objectionable by many

members of the community. Thus, adverse conditions not defined by the community
as reprehensible are not considered as social problems. For example, if taking
alcohol is not regarded as objectionable by the society, it is not considered a social
problem. But as the society recognizes and discusses the problems inherent in
alcohol consumption, studies its consequences and devises a plan of corrective
 action to control it, it comes to be defined as a social problem even though the
original situation may not have changed.
2) Social problems change when the concerned behavioral patterns are interpreted
differently. For example, till a few decades ago, mental illness was viewed as
insanity and it was considered so disgraceful that the families kept the member’s
mental illness a secret. Now mental illness is seen only as one type of ‘deviant
behavior’ which requires psychiatric and social treatment. Thus, the problem of
mental illness today is met more realistically and effectively.
3) Mass media (like newspapers, television, radio, magazines, movies) play an
important role in creating awareness about the scope and urgency of social
problems.
4) Social problems have to be viewed in the context of the society’s values and
institutions, for example, the problem of racial conflict in the United States is
different from the problem of untouchability in India.
5) Social problems need to be analyzed in terms of the influences upon them by group
processes and social relationships.
6) Since social problems vary historically, contemporary social problems are the
society’s concern, that is, the problem of refugee settlement in India in 1947-48 was
different from the problemof settling refugees from Assam in 1968, or the Tamils
from Sri Lanka in 1988-89, or the Indians from Kuwait and Iraq in September, 1990.
Similarly, the problem of immigrants in the United Kingdom in 1988 was different
than it was in 1967 or 1947.

CAUSES OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Social problem rise out of pathological social conditions they occur in all societies ,
simple as well as in complex relations, anonymity, loneliness, high mobility and extreme
specialization, and that is, wherever and whenever a relationship between a group of
individuals leading to maladjustment and conflicts.

Three factors are important for understanding the causal factors of social problems:

1. The causal conditions are numerous. Broadly, we can classify them into two groups:

a) Found in individuals- hereditary traits & acquired traits

 b) Found in the social environment- contradictions in social system, malfunctioning of
economic systems, lack of change in religious systems, defective functioning of
political systems.

All the factors are not present in all the problems, that is, the causal factors vary from
problem to problem.

2. Social problems provide a strong basis of common causal factors.

3. Social problems are interrelated and interdependent in the sense that they are
cumulatively promotive and proactive, that is, they foster encourage one another.

TYPES OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS

According to Clarence Marshall Case (1964), has given four types of social problems on
the basis of their origin:

1. Those which are rooted in some aspect of the physical environment.

2. Which are inherent in the nature or distribution of the population involved.
3. Which result from poor social organization.
4. Which evolve from a conflict of cultural values within the society.

According to Fuller &Myers (1941), have given three types of problems:

1. Physical problems: though these are problems for the society but their causes are not
based on value-conflicts. E.g. - floods and famines

2. Ameliorative problems: there is a consensus about the effects of these problem but
there are differences pertaining to their solutions. e.g. - crime, poverty and drug addiction.

3. Moral problems: there is no consensus pertaining to the nature or causes of these

problems. e.g. - gambling and divorce

STAGES IN THE DEVLOPMENT OF A SOCIAL PROBLEM

In ancient times social thought was unorganized as there was not systematic study of social
problems. The history of social thought came from, when man was passing through a
complex network of social problems, so he originate thinking about the solution of these
problems. Social thought is developed through the following process and stages of
development of social thoughts. The difficulties in defining a social problem and the fact that
various parties often try to influence public perceptions of social problems. These issues
aside, most social problems go through a natural history consisting of several stages of their
development (Spector & Kitsuse, 2001).

 Fuller and Myers (1941): Three stages through which the problems pass in the
process of being defined and solved:

1-Awareness: People become convinced that the problem exists, the condition is undesirable,
and that something can be done about it. In the beginning, only a few people raise questions
but gradually more people become aware of the existence of the problem.

2-Policy determination: As awareness spreads to larger segments of the society, possible

solutions come to be discussed. Thus, the emphasis in the second stage shifts from what
should be done to how should it be done.

3-Reform: As basic solutions and policies are decided upon, the stage of action is reached.
This stage is called the state of implementation rather than the stage of decision.

 Herbert Blumer (1971) has referred to five stages in the course of a social
problem:

(1) Emergence of a problem,

(2) Legitimation of a problem,

(3) Mobilisation of action,

(4) Formulation of an official plan, and

(5) Implementation of the official plan.

The movement from one stage to other is not automatic but it depends on many
contingencies.

First, social problems pass through the stage of “societal recognition” the process by which a
social problem is born. Second, “social legitimation” takes place when the social problem
achieves recognition by the larger community, including the media, schools, and churches.
The next stage in the development of a social problem involves “mobilization for action,”
which occurs when individuals and groups become concerned about how to respond to the
social condition. This mobilization leads to the “development and implementation of an
official plan” for dealing with the problem.

 Malcolm Spector and John Kitsuse (1977) four stages in the development of a
social problem:

1- Agitation: The people feel aggrieved about the existing situation in the society. They
agitate against this grievance,

(1) To convince others that the problem exists, and

(2) To initiate action to improve conditions and to attack the alleged cause of the grievance.

The agitation is started not necessarily by the victims but even by moral crusaders on behalf
of the victims, for example, the prohibition movement is started not by alcoholics but by
social workers and social reformers. Thus, the agitation is to convert private troubles into
public issues by declaring them to be harmful, offensive and undesirable. However, it is not
necessary that their efforts should succeed. The efforts fail either because the claims made are
too vague, or because the group that makes these efforts is insignificant or powerless, or
because the group creates conflicting interests.

2) Legitimation and Capitation: When the group in power or the power-holders

acknowledge the existence of the problem, the problem acquires legitimacy. Whereas in the
first stage, the claimants of the problems are viewed as peculiar individuals, in this stage they
are viewed as legitimate spokesmen of the aggrieved people. They are, therefore, co-opted for
discussing alternate solutions.

(3) Bureaucratization and Reaction: When the focus in the first stage is on the complaint-
group, in the second stage it is on the decision-makers and in the third stage, it is the
bureaucrats and their efficiency which attracts attention in the third stage. The extent to
which the bureaucrats look for solutions to the problem and the extent to which they are able
to fobb off vested interests, will determine whether the agitation will take the form of a
movement or not.

(4) Re-emergence of the Movement: The defective policies of the decision-makers and the
bureaucrats and their disinterestedness in the problem rekindle the feelings of the aggrieved
people and their crusaders who start a movement to force the power-holders to adopt
ameliorative measures for solving the problem.
Thus, according to Spector and Kitsuse (1977) "social problems are pre-eminently a political
process through which the problem comes to be publicly accepted as such and through which
particular institutional responses to the problem are shaped and then reshaped"

SOLVING SOCIAL PROBLEMS

The solving of a social problem depends upon finding out the causes of troublesome social
conditions which create the problem. As already stated, though every social problem is
caused by multiple factors, but it is always possible to find out the chief factor, the
cooperative factors and the minor aggravates in the origin and development of the problem.
Every problem is likely to be unique and is likely to have individualistic traits which may
differentiate it from other problems. Many a time, the nature of the social problem is such
that the control becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible. This happens when a social
problem is occasioned by natural factors like droughts or floods or when the conflict of social
interests blocks the application of curative programs, or a revolution is needed to change the
existing political or economic systems. But after understanding and judging social problems,
the society has to be effective and has to take some action whether it is by attempting to alter
the established social institutions or by trying to alleviate them by adopting measures without
trying to change the existing institutions. Further, action can be organized or personalized.
The former is action through group effort like giving a share to industrial workers in the
management of the industry, whereas the latter is action through individual life and
influencing others by living a life in accordance with good principles.

Gandhi used the second method for solving the problem of untouchability-by living with
untouchables and treating them with sympathy and kindness. When others imitated his
example and followed him, the effect became greater and greater, and the government was
ultimately forced to enact a law in 1955 prohibiting the practice of untouchability.

Organized action, thus, can be taken by the state or a political party or by the panchayat or an
official group. An important point in organized action is the distribution of functions between

State agencies and those not connected with the state. Sometimes the problem is solved by
the combination of organized and personalized actions.

Social problems can be solved only when individuals in a society possess the following four
feelings:
(1) Feeling that a situation can be corrected,

(2) Determination to correct the situation,

(3) Confidence in the people and a belief that there is no limit to progress because of their
intelligence and efforts, and

(4) The use of technological and rational knowledge and skill for correcting the situation.

Three points have to be remembered while trying to reach an effective solution to a social
problem:

(1) Multiple factor approach: Each social problem is caused by a number of factors, for
example, the problem of crime cannot be contained unless it is collectively perceived
in terms of poverty, unemployment, social associations, functioning of social
structures, strains and frustrations, and so on.
(2) Interrelatedness: No social problem can be perceived atomistically. Each problem
has some relation to the other problems.
(3) Relativity: Each social problem is related to time and space. What is considered a
problem in one society may not be considered so in the other.

POVERTY

The three precepts are often used to define poverty

(1) The amount of money required by a person to subsist.

(2) The life below a ‘minimum subsistence level’ and ‘having standards’ prevalent at a given
time in a given place, and

(3) The comparative state of well-being of a few and ill-being of the majority in society.

The last approach explains poverty in terms of relativity and inequality.

Whereas the first two definitions refer to the economic concept of absolute poverty, the third
definition views it as a social concept that is in terms of the share of the total national income
received by those at the bottom.

In first view, poverty has been defined as an inability to gratify the physiological needs, that
is, need for survival, safety and security.
In second view, it maintains that poverty has three main aspects of want of material goods or
materialist possessions

(1) Those necessary to avoid physical suffering and needed to fulfil the requirements of
hunger and shelter, that is, those needed to survive,

(2) Such as are essential to meet human needs of health, that is, to get nutrition and to avoid
disease and

(3) Those needed to maintain a minimum subsistence level.

In simple terms, this refers to a minimum amount of food intake, adequate housing, clothing,
education and health-care.

In third view, defines poverty as condition of falling below the minimum standards of
subsistence appropriate to each society, or “the absence of enough money secure life’s
necessities”, or “a condition of acute physical want--starvation, malnutrition, disease, and
want of clothing, shelter and medical care".

Michael Harrington (1958) defined poverty with reference to deprivation'. According to him,
poverty is the deprivation from those minimal levels of food, health, housing, education, and
recreation which are compatible with the contemporary technology, beliefs and values of a
particular society.

Marun Rein (1968) identifies three elements in poverty. Subsistence, Inequality and
Externality

CAUSES

There are two extreme perspectives on the basis of which one can analyse the causes of
poverty- the old and the modern.

One view of poverty is that it is providential and it is considered to be the result of the
individual's past karmas (deeds), or sins.

The other view ascribes poverty to be the result of a failure of an individual’s working
abilities or due to his lack of motivation.

David Elesh (1973) has given three causes of poverty: the individual, the culture or sub-
culture, and the social structure.
(1) Individual- The ideology of individualism which finds the cause of poverty within the
individual is that success and failure of an individual are his personal matters

(2) Culture or Subculture of poverty –the culture of poverty, or the way of life of the poor.
Such a culture blocks all attempts of the society to change the values, norms, beliefs and the
style of the poor. The ‘culture of poverty’ concept suggests that despite economic changes,
the poor have remained so because of their culture of sub-culture. The culture of the poor
fosters behaviour and values associated with poverty: it has kept the poor out of the
mainstream of industrial society.

(3) Social Structure while 'individual' and 'culture of poverty' are accepted as causes of
poverty by the conservatives, the liberals. The radicals, and the sociologists link poverty to
social structure or to 'miserable and unjust social conditions'.

Economic cause: Inadequate development has been described as the cause of poverty in
India because the planning between 1951 and 1991 has been so defective that the rate of
growth has only been 3 5%.

Demographic cause Population growth is the most important factor in poverty. Poverty is
related to health also. If a person is healthy, he is not only able to earn but he spends less on
his sickness If large number of people in the country suffer from chronic malnutrition or live
in an insanitary environment, they suffer from many diseases which makes them incapable of
working and earning. Poverty is correlated to increase in family size as well. The educational
level of the people in the country also contributes to poverty

Social cause: Discrimination, prejudices, casteism, communalism and parochialism, also

affect employment opportunities and the gross income. Climate is another reason for poverty.
The hot climate reduces the capacity to work hard.Colonial legacy is also responsible for
poverty.

PROBLEMS OF THE POOR AND THE PAINS OF POVERTY

Some of the variables on which the poor differ from others are:

degree of participation in the labour force, kind of employment, characteristics of family,

degree of knowledge of the larger society, political awareness, awareness of social and
economic rights, and value orientations in politics, religion and social customs
The important problems the poor in our society face are:-

1) Social discrimination and social condemnation: The employers, the rich, the officials and
even the government looks down upon the poor. They are considered lethargic, inefficient
and a burden on the society. They are harassed, humiliated and discriminated against at every
level

2) Housing: Family tensions also affect their personality as well as their behaviour; self-
respect is eroded and cynicism fostered. The deficient housing contributes to the weakening
of family solidarity.

3) Sub-culture of poverty: When poverty is transmitted over generations, it becomes a

culture, has said that although the membership of the poor changes to an important degree
overt the generations, the successive generations resemble each other in behaviour and values
as a product of the common experiences of being poor and of being subjected to similar
social pressures.

UNEMPLOYMENT

 An unemployed person is “one who having potentialities and willingness to earn, is

unable to find a remunerative work”.
 Sociologically, it has been defined as “forced or involuntary separation from
remunerative work of a member of the normal working force (that is, of 15-59 age group)
during normal working time at normal wages and under normal conditions”.
 D’Mello(1969) has defined it as “a condition in which an individual is not in a state of
remunerative occupation despite his desire to do so”.
 Naba Gopal Das has explained unemployment as “condition of involuntary idleness”.
 The planning Commision of India has described a person as `unemployed when he/she
remains without work for one day in a week. This definition may be accepted in a
developed country which provides social security to the unemployed but it cannot be
accepted in developing country like India which has no Unemployment Insurance
Scheme.

Unemployment has three elements:

1) The individual should be capable of working,

2) The individual should be willing to work, and

3) The individual must make an effort to find work

There has been an alarming rise in unemployment in our country since independence, the
exact number of unemployed persons is not yet known.

TYPES

Unemployment may either classified as rural and urban, or it may be classified as seasonal,
cyclical, and technological, urban unemployment. It has been sub-classified as
educational and industrial.

Seasonal unemployment is inherent in the agricultural sector and certain manufacturing

units like sugar and ice factories.

Agricultural unemployment is caused because a number of factors. First, the land-holdings

are so small that even the family members of the working age-groups are not absorbed by the
land. Second, the nature of work is seasonal. Broadly speaking, a cultivator in India remains
unemployed for about four to six months in a year.

Cyclical unemployment is caused because of the ups and downs in the trade business.

Industrial unemployment is one caused because of a large-scale migration of people from

rural to urban areas, losses incurred by industries, slow growth of industries, and competition
with foreign industries and so on.

Technological unemployment is one caused due to the introduction of automation or other

technological changes in industry or other work places. It is also caused due to the reduction
of man power necessary to produce a finished article thought the course of economic
development.

Educational unemployment is caused because the system of education is largely unrelated

to life.

CAUSES

Economists have explained unemployment in terms of lack of capital and lack of investment,
and high production.
Improvements in machine technology, over-production, falsely stimulated speculation, social
emphasis upon monetary success and the inevitable depressions-all these make for crippling
disruption in the demand of labor.

The classical school of thought places the essential cause of unemployment on the 'Wage
Fund Theory', according to which the wages of the workers are fixed in advance but because
of lack of capital the manufacturers engage only a small number of workers which results in
unemployment.

The new classical school believes unemployment to be the result of 'over production.’

Keynes (1952) has talked of the 'desire for saving' as the cause of unemployment. People
invest little because they want to save more. Small investments cause low production which
causes more unemployment

Some economists have referred to the imbalance between demand and supply as the cause
of unemployment. When effective demand declines for the products of industry, prices drop,
factions close down, wages stop, and men are shifted from the employed to the unemployed
status through no fault of their own.

In sociological terms, unemployment can be described as the product of a combination of

social factors like degrading social status, geographical immobility, rapid growth of
population, and defective educational system; and personal factors like lack of experience,
vocational unfitness, and illness and disability.

Regarding social or work status causes unemployment in the sense that some people
consider it below their dignity to take up certain jobs and prefer to remain unemployed.

Unemployment is triggered off by geographical immobility too. There is surplus labour in

one place and inadequate labour in another place, when people refuse to move from one
region to other. The immobility may also be due to the lack of information regarding the
availability of jobs in other cities or because of the language problem or family
responsibilities

CONSEQUENCES
Unemployment affects the individual, family, as well as the society, or it may be said that
unemployment causes personal disorganization, family disorganization, and social
disorganization.

From the point of view of personal disorganization, the unemployed person faces
disillusionment and cynicism. Having no outlet to release their depression, the young
person’s tune their creative energies into wrong channels which explains the rise of the
number of youthful bandits, highway robberies and bank holdups. Ex-wage earners are more
liable to physical illness, tension, suicide and crime, because the lack of working
opportunities makes it impossible for them to support their dependents. Their own
dependency on others is very often morally sapping because of the humiliation that follows.
Some people in this state are even known to turn to illegal occupation like smuggling and
drug trafficking rather than facing up to the true situation.

Family disorganization because of unemployment is easier measure. Unemployment affects

the unity of interests of family members, the unity of objectives, as well as the unity of
personal ambitions. The disharmonious functioning of the members creates discord within the
family. Sometimes the wife of an unemployed person wants to take up a job but the idea of a
wife taking up a job irritates the husband with traditional and conservative values so much
that there is tremendous conflict within the home. On the other hand, the conflict between
husband and wife may arise when the unemployed husband wants his wife to take up a job
and the wife is reluctant to do so because of the presence of small children at home.

Social disorganization caused by unemployment is harder to measure. Social

disorganization is a breakdown of the social structure, or change because of which old forms
of social control no longer function effectively, or a process by which social relationships
between members of a group are broken or dissolved. The activities of the unemployed are so
restricted and their attitudes so bitter that in this phase of disillusionment and
discouragement, they lose their desire to work and their skills may deteriorate with a resultant
loss to the whole community (Joanna Colcord, 1941).

POPULATION EXPLOSION

Population is defined as a group of people or animals of a particular kind that live in a space.
Explosion means a sudden and very fast increase. Population explosion is defined as the rapid
increase in the world population beyond the normal limits. Population explosion is defined as
the rapid increase in the world population beyond the normal limits.
Population explosion refers the sudden and rapid rise in the size of population it is an
unchecked growth of human population caused as a result of increased birth rate, decreased
infant mortality rate, improved life expectancy.
CAUSES OF POPULATION GROWTH

(1) Widening gap between birth and death rate

Birth rate: The birth rate is the rate in a given place over a period of time. The birth
rate is often expressed as the number of live births per 1000 of the population per
year. It is also called Natality.

Death rate: The rate of total death to total population in a specified area over a
specified area over a specified period of time. The death rate is often expressed as the
number of deaths per 1000 of the population per year. It is also called Fatality.

Population change is governed by the balance between birth rates and death rates.

If the birth rate stages the same and the death rate decreases, then population numbers
will grow. If the birth rate increase and the death rate stays the same, then population
will also grow.

(2) Low Age at marriage

There is a strong relationship between child marriage and fertility. Woman who marry
as child are more likely to have higher total fertility, or more children over their
lifetimes, than those who marry later in life. In some settings child marriage has also
been shown to reduce contraceptive use, which can lead to both short intervals
between births and a later end to child bearing.

3) High illiteracy

Family planning has a direct link with female education and female education is
directly associated with age at marriage, general status of woman, their fertility
behavior, infant mortality rate and so forth. If both man and woman are educated, they
will easily understand the logic of planning their family, but if either of them or both
of them are illiterate, they would be more orthodox, illogical and religious-minded.
 4) Religious Attitude towards family planning

The religiously orthodox and conservative people are against the use of family
planning measures. There are women who disfavor family planning on the plea that
they cannot go against the wishes of God. There are some women who argue that the
purpose of a woman's life is to bear children.

5) Other cause.

Some of the other causes responsible for the increase in population are: joint family
system and lack of responsibility of young couples in these families to bring up their
children, lack of recreational facilities, and lack of information or wrong information
about the adverse effects of vasectomy, tubectomy and the loop.

EFFECTS OF POPULATION EXPLOSION

Population explosion lead to competition for essential requirements like food, cloth, shelter
etc. It can lead to the depletion of the growth of population, has a direct effect on the living
standards of the people. It has also led to the rise of crime and an increase in conflict in the
urban and the semi-urban areas.

MEASURES

Measures suggested to control population explosion are family planning, searching for new
contraceptive, controlling early marriage and economic development

CHILD LABOR

Child labor is a violation of children’s rights – the work can harm them mentally or
physically, expose them to hazardous situations or stop them from going to school. Education
is a proven strategy for reducing child labour. Lack of access to education keeps the cycle of
exploitation, illiteracy and poverty going – limiting future options and forcing children to
accept low-wage work as adults and to raise their own children in poverty. Children who
have access to education can break the cycle of poverty at the root of child labour.

Child laborers are exploited, exposed to hazardous work conditions and paid very less for
their long hours of work. Children are forced to forgo education, shouldering responsibilities
far beyond their years, they are not getting parental protection or parental care like other
children of their age group. Most of these children who are the victims of child labour never
know what child labour is. Constitution makes sure that no child below the age of 14 years
shall be employed to work in any factory or in any hazardous employment (article 24).
According to article 45 the state shall endeavor to provide within a period of 10 years from
the commencement of the constitution, free and compulsory education for all children until
they complete the age of 14 years.

Majority of the working children are concentrated in the rural areas. 60% of them are below
the age of 10 years. The number of children in urban areas who work in canteens and
restaurants or those engaged in picking rags are very high which falls under unrecorded
category

CAUSES OF CHILD LABOUR

In India 40% of the population is living in a condition of extreme poverty. In such

circumstances children could not look for alternatives. The alternative to work may be
idleness, destitution, or worse, crime. Employers always give interesting justification for
employing children to suppress their guilt feelings. They always say that working can keep
children away from starvation. They also say that works may prevent them from committing
crimes. Government and concerned authorities have made it clear that it is impractical to
eradicate child labour because the government cannot provide substantial alternative
employment to them. Social scientist say that the main cause of child labour is poverty. The
children either supplement their parents’ income or are the only wage earners in the family.
Another reason is that child labour is deliberately created by vested interests to get cheap
labour. It is very easy to get children for work and that too for cheap payment.

Communities that have inadequate educational facilities, including a lack of teachers and
resources, create an unstable environment in which children do not have access education,
which in turn pushes them towards child labour. Some families are unable to afford school
fees, pushing them towards child labour as a more lucrative use of children’s time. Some
cultures place less emphasis on girls going to school and prefer that girls are prepared to carry
out household tasks

DEFINING THE ´WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOUR´

Under Article 3 of ILO Convention No. 182, the worst forms of child labour are defined as
(ILO, 1999):
  All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of
children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including
forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
 The use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of
pornography or for pornographic performances;
 The use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the
production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;
 Work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to
harm the health, safety or morals of children. The worst forms of child labour include
(ILO), child trafficking, sexual exploitation (which includes pornography and
prostitution), drug trafficking, debt bondage (also referred to as bonded labour),
slavery, forced labour and organized child begging.

CHILD ABUSE

Children face many problems physically, emotionally and sexually. Parents neglect them,
employers in workplaces sexually and physically abuse them. According to Kempe and
Kempe in 1978 child abuse is a condition having to do with those who have been deliberately
injured by physical assault. It is classified into as physical, emotional and sexual. There are
different characteristics for each abuse. In this assignment we will look into the concepts and
types of child abuse, the incidence, theoretical explanation for child abuse and causes of child
abuse.

CONCEPTS AND TYPES OF CHILD ABUSE

According to Garden and Gray (1982), the term child abuse was limited to children who have
received serious physical injury caused willfully rather than by accident. In 1978, Kempe and
Kempe defined child abuse as a condition having to do with those who have been deliberately
injured by physical assault. In 1979, Burgess defined child abuse as to any child who receives
non- accidental physical and psychological injury as a result of acts and omissions on the part
of his parents or guardians or employers. Verbal abuse, threats of physical violence, and
excessive physical punishment which do not require medical attention also comes under child
abuse.

Child abuse is mainly classified into three types. They are physical, sexual and emotional.
In physical abuse, the indicators of child abuse in the child described by Sloan are bruises,
burns, fractures, laceration and abrasions, abdominal injuries, human bite marks. The
behavioral indicator of physical abuse are, wary of contact from the adults, become
apprehensive when other children cry, shows aggressiveness, seems frightened of the parents
or caretakers, and is afraid to go to home.

Child sexual abuse has been defined as the involvement of dependent and immature children
in sexual activities they do not fully comprehend, to which they are unable to give informed
consent. According to Juvenile Justice Act in 1986 child sexual abuse is the interaction
between a child and an adult in which the child is being used for the sexual stimulation of the
perpetrator or another person. Sexual abuse is not often identified through physical indicators
alone. The child confides in a trusted person that she has been sexually assaulted. But some
physical difficulties can be seen in walking or sitting, torn or stained underclothes,
complaints of pain or itching, bruises or bleeding and pregnancy. Some behavioral indicators
are being withdrawn or retarded, poor peer relationship, unwilling to participate in activities
or display bizarre or unusual sexual knowledge.

Emotional abuse is neglect or maltreatment of children. Physical neglect has been defined as
failure to provide the essentials for normal life like food, clothing, shelter, care, supervision
and protection. Emotional neglect includes lack of expressed love and affection. Emotional
maltreatment of the child includes blaming, belittling, rejecting, constantly treating siblings
unequally and persistent lack of concern by parent or caretaker for the child’s welfare.

INCIDENCE OF CHILD ABUSE

Across different forms of abuse, and across different evidence groups, the younger children
of age 5-12 years have reported higher levels of abuse. Boys, as compared to girls, are
equally at risk of abuse. Person in trust and authority are major abusers. About 70% of abused
children never report the matter to anyone. It was found that two out of three children are
physically abused, out of 69% of children physically abused in 13 sample states, 54.68%
were boys. Out of those children physically abused in family, 88.6% were physically abused
by parents.

THEORITICAL EXPLANATIONS FOR CHILD ABUSE

To explain the motivational factors in child many scholars have made many explanations.
Some important theoretical explanations are:
 1. Psychiatric explanation.
2. Socio-cultural explanation includes
 Social situational explanation
 Social habitability explanation
 Social control explanation
3. Resource explanation
4. Social interaction explanation
5. Social learning explanation

Psychiatric explanation: Propounded by Kempe, Steele and Pollock, Gelles and Park and
Collmer. It links with child abuse factors such as mental illness and personality defects or
intra-individual abnormalities. It also links abusive parent’s own childhood experiences to the
individuals’ weal personality development and poor self-control. According to this
explanation, parent abuse his/her child due to unmet emotional needs, an inability to balance
the child’s needs and capabilities with own expectations, or emotional scars from their own
abusive or deprived family background affecting their ability to care for their own offspring.

Socio-cultural explanation, given in the 1970s, maintained that external forces or socio-
demographic variables within the society caused child abuse. This explanation three sub-
types.

 Social-situational explanation proposes that abuse and violence arise out of two factors,
structural stress and cultural norms. As the social structure of the parent is more stressful,
greater becomes the possibility of family violence. If a parent was frequently exposed to
harsh physical punishment as a child, he may have greater propensity toward viewing
such behavior as normative and inhibition against physical force maybe lessened. Other
factors that can cause stressful situation are low income, unemployment, isolation,
unwanted pregnancy and conflict with spouse.
 Social- habitability explanation was proposed by James Garbarino in 1977. According to
him, the nature of child maltreatment depends upon the quality of the environment in
which the person and family live, or the level of family support in the environment. The
lesser the family support the greater the risk of maltreatment of children.
 The social control explanation was propounded by Gelles in 1973. According to him,
parents use violence against their children because they have no fear of being hit back, or
 of being arrested. Gelles has maintained that curtained types of children like handicapped,
demanding, premature are at a greater risk of being abused by their parents.
According to resource explanation theory (by William Goode in 1971), the use of force by
an individual depends upon the extent to which he can command or master the resource-
social, personal and economic. The more resources a person has, the less he will use force in
an open manner. Thus a father who wants to be a dominant person in the family, but does not
have proper education, low prestigious job, and low income may choose violence against his
children to maintain the dominant position.

The social-interaction explanation was given by R.L Burgess in 1979. It approaches the
etiology of child abuse in terms of the interplay between individual family and social factors
in relation to both past and present events. The parent’s learning history, interpersonal
experiences, and intrinsic capabilities are regarded as predisposing characteristics presumed
to be important contributors to an abusive pattern. The condition under which a child is
reared and the methods used by the parents, particularly their punitive methods, may help to
explain why some adults are predisposed to abusive behavior, given certain setting
conditions. Perception and interpretations of events, are also recognized as important factors
influencing the parent-child interactions.

The social learning explanation lays emphasis on the learned nature of parenting and the
fact that many parents have insufficient knowledge and skill to equip them to carry out the
highly complex task of child rearing. They lack not only fundamental skills but there may
also be an absence of coping strategies to deal with stress, giving rise to a spiraling effect of
increased stress and less effective coping.

THE VICTIMS OF CHILD ABUSE

In physical abuse, boys are more battered than girls. School-going children run greater risk of
being physically abused than those who do not go to school. Older boys of age 14-16 years
are more abused than those of younger children. Non-working children are beaten more than
working boys. A large number of abused children belong to poor family. In sexual abuse,
girls are more victims of sexual abuse than boys. A higher proportion of children become
victims of sexual abuse when they are 14 or above. Males are usually by one person while
girls are generally assaulted by more than one person. There are evidences that show the low
caste women are more frequent victims of sexual assault than of females from higher caste.
Boys are more emotionally maltreated than girls; working children are as much neglected as
non-working children.

CAUSES OF CHILD ABUSE

The major cause of child abuse is adaptation failure or environmental maladjustment mostly
on the part of the adult perpetrators but to some extent on the part of adults responsible for
family socialization as well.

Psycho-social pathology, psycho-social pathology and stress are considered as the cause of
physical abuse. The dominant causes are children constantly disobeying parents, quarrels
between the parents and the child beaten as scapegoat, child not taking interest in studies etc.
The four causes of sexual abuse are adjustment problems of the perpetrators, family
disorganization, victim’s characteristics and the psychological disorder of the abusers.
The four important causes of emotional abuse are poverty, ‘deficient’ parental control and
non-cordial relations within family, maltreatment faced my parents in their own childhood or
intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment and alcoholism of parents.

EFFECTS OF ABUSE ON CHILDREN

Bolton and Bolton (1987) have identified eight possible effects of abuse on children namely
self-devaluation, dependency, mistrust, re victimization, withdrawal from people, emotional
trauma, deviant behavior and interpersonal problems. It is seen that child’s dependency is
shifted from parents to teachers for the gratification of all his needs. The three indicators to
operationalize dependency were gratification of physical needs, emotional and social support
and need of working somewhere to earn money. Child abuse results in poor communication
and coping ability, failure in developing intimacy and social relationships, mistrust, isolation
and withdrawal from interactional settings.